1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to restraining devices. More specifically, it relates to a restraining device adapted to be attached to an existing chair for the purpose of holding the person seated in the chair in an upright position. Even more specifically, it relates to a device consisting of a detachable bracket that extends outwards from the back of the chair and that has attached thereto an adjustable strap for holding the user firmly upright against the back of the chair, thus preventing slouching during long periods of work done while seated.
2. Description of the Prior Art
More and more, people are working while seated at a desk, usually while entering data, using a word processor, or other enterprise. They remain seated for long stretches of time, and the tendency, in the types of chairs standardly employed in offices, is to slouch; that is to drop the shoulders and lean the torso towards the edge of the desk, computer screen, etc. This can lead to long term health problems in that backaches can be brought on by this position, and these backaches can become chronic, thus cutting into the productive time of the person or employee thus afflicted. The present invention seeks to address this problem by providing a padded, adjustable strap that extends perpendicular to the rear strut of the chair so that the person utilizing the device is held comfortably upright and is not allowed to slouch or lean forward. In a search in this art, the following patents were uncovered that appeared relevant to the present invention:
In U.S. Pat. No. 579,818 issued on Mar. 30, 1897 to Ella I. Cooley there is disclosed a safety belt. The device has a waist belt, a fastening strip for the device's attachment to a seat, and an elastic strip that connects the waist belt to the fastening strip. The belt of the patent is designed to restrain a child in a high chair while permitting limited movement. By contrast, the instant invention is for the purpose of maintaining correct posture and therefore does not have elastic straps and does not permit lateral or longitudinal movement of the torso with respect to the chair when properly fastened.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,799,322 issued on Jul. 16, 1957 to Roy D. Jordan discloses a child's safety seat for use in an automobile. The device has a tubular support frame for the seat, with the back portion having a floating type engagement with a rack. The rack is made of arcuate rod material and is designed to slip over the back of a car seat. The seat has a safety belt which serves to restrain the child against the existing automobile seat back during sudden deceleration. By contrast, the seat of this invention is not concerned with inertial loading and therefore has its own seat back with the rear belt attachment points being wider than the seat back.
Next is U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,304 issued on May 18, 1976 to L. John Koutsky et al. This discloses a flexible seat restraint where a tie is connected to the base of a shock absorbing seat suspension to prevent excessive deflection during a rollover. The belt of this patent is arranged as a pelvic restraint and is thus not suitable to maintain posture. By contrast, the combination seat and belt of the instant invention is intended as an upper torso restraint preventing improper posture.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,992 issued on Nov. 17, 1987 to Deborah L. Downing et al. there is disclosed a seat belt that is pivotable to allow the user to recline upon the seat. The restraint belt fits primarily the pelvic region and does not attach to the seat back but rather to the existing automotive seat belt. By contrast, the instant invention has its own seat back with the rear belt attachment points being wider than the seat back and is intended as an upper torso restraint promoting proper posture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,878 issued on Apr. 5, 1977 to Charles M. Perkins discloses a chair construction where the back portion has an upper and lower part. The upper part is vertically positionable and carries a torso girding belt to allow the user to at least partially elevate the torso from the seat. The torso girding strap of the patented seat is designed to support a portion of the user's weight as the upper seat part is ratcheted away from the lower part. By contrast, the instant invention is not intended to lift the user's weight with the strap and the strap is therefore not attached to a movable portion of the seat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,807 issued on Dec. 11, 1979 to John J. Ocel et al. there is disclosed a restraining belt for wheelchairs, stretchers, and the like. A flexible strap extends around the portion of the implement to which the patient is to be secured and a hook and loop fastener arrangement is disposed on the opposite side of the implement. A flexible fabric sleeve can be extended over the interengaging portions to obviate the accidental or intentional uncoupling of the strap. The strap of the patent is fastened out of reach of the user with the sleeve intended to positively prevent the user from disconnecting the strap. By contrast, the strap fastener of the instant invention is not meant as an involuntary restraint and is thus easily accessible to the user.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,588 issued on Jul. 26, 1988 to Monte J. Husnik discloses a seat belt training cushion for automotive child seats. This device is an accessory seat cushion for partially camouflaging the buckled restraint with separate padded arms. The actual restraint straps of the patent are fitted around the pelvic area. By contrast, the present invention provides an upper torso restraint promoting proper posture in a static environment.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.